Book Review [The Millennial Mentality by Elan Carson]

I like books with impact and The Millennial Mentality by Elan Carson has that from the very beginning. The cover gave me the first impression of being global and the chapter titles gave me the second impression of a fun read with titles like "It's Complicated", "The F-Word" and "I Can't Stand the Rain". However, when I got into the Introduction I kind of felt like someone was shouting at me about something I had nothing to do with and it kind of put me on the defense since I am not a "Gen Yer". short for Generation Y.

With the commitment to read this book, I ventured on into the chapters and had a change of heart by the time I got to Chapter 3 which gave some really good info about student loans that young and old people can benefit from. Chapter 1 and 2 struck me as being silly stuff about dysfunctional relationships and cats, however it did spark my compassion for the lonely.

Now by the time I finished Chapter 4 "Quarter Life Crisis", is where the book began to bring out it's value to the reader. This chapter had the most enlightening information and heartfelt truths that I see in my own children. I loved the part about connecting with nature, and having the freedom to choose in every life situation. I would have to say that chapters 4-6 spoke some profound truths about Generation Y and the current events that touch us all including suicide and helping others through selfless service.

Chapter 7, "All in a Day's Work", is the longest chapter that revealed some interesting concepts about Gen Yers in the workforce and business today. The one problem I had was the author's suggestion for transparency from the company's that they work for. If a company reveals everything to every employee and you have people who are still operating on low levels of emotional immaturity some information can cause tantrum like results that can be unfavorable. And judging from all the baggage the millennial generation are carrying according to the author, tit for tat would be present more than not. The author even expressed this in an earlier section of the chapter where in so many words she said that someone else in the company she worked for got a raise and she didn't, so she quit.

In the later chapters 8-11 Elan touches on some good social issues that still need to harmonized in the American society like feminism, gay rights, race issues, and body image. The final chapters of the book 12-14 seemed like fillers and returned to some silly stuff like Harry Potter and Selfies, but I did find the chapter on gen yer lingo interesting.

I also got a chance to be in the company of a few Generation Yers while I was reading the book and threw out some of the topics that were covered in the book as a conversation and they verified a lot of the points that were made in book and seemed quite interested in getting a copy to read. This let me know that Elan was right on the money when it came to bringing forth a book that will fulfill its purpose in educating other generations and her own generation about what living as a young adult in today's society is really like. Let me also mention that Elan's writing style is very user friendly and reflective of her formal education in writing. I like good writing.

With that being said I would recommend this book to those seeking clarity on what's going on in the minds of young adults today and to those young people who want a peer perspective on what's important as they travel into maturity and fulfilling their life purpose.

The Millennial Mentality gets 4 ankhs.

K. Akua Gray

September 19, 2016

Houston, TX